Sansotei opened their Richmond Hill location last year, while we were still renovating the house and spending our weekends building kitchen cabinets. I was very excited for the new arrival to our neighbourhood. Stephen and I stopped by within the first week we moved and I visited again with a friend in May. While Sansotei’s downtown location has consistently served up delicious bowls everytime I visit, I’m finding that not to be the case at their other locations.

Atmosphere: On both visits I arrived just after 5pm before the dinner rush and was greeted with an empty restaurant. I only saw tables for couples or groups of four. There were two corner booths at the front of the restaurant, but they would still only seat 3-4 people comfortably. Larger groups would have to be split between a few tables. Decor was modern and similar to their other locations with a decorative rope wall, lots of natural wood and shiny brass pendants. By 6pm, every table was full.

Service: Service was friendly and quick, even during my first visit when they had recently opened. We were greeted right away and offered one of the booth tables as I was 9 month pregnant at the time. The extra space was welcomed. On my first visit, our bowls arrived quickly and hot from the kitchen. On my second visit, it took some time for my bowl to come out and I found the broth lukewarm.

Food: On our first visit, Stephen and I both ordered the Tonkotsu Black while my brother chose the regular Tonkotsu. The broth was rich, milky, flavourful and had a great sheen of oil on top. A healthy amount of black garlic oil added umami to each slurp. I choose thin noodles, which were firm and had a great chew. My toppings were also as delicious as ever with two slices of rolled chashu, a soft boiled egg and black fungus. Overall, exactly as I had expected.

On my second visit, I ordered the Miso Black that ended up being quite lacklustre. The noodles and toppings were great, but the broth wasn’t piping hot, and there was barely enough to cover the noodles. Overall an ok bowl, but not the amazing one I expected, especially being their most expensive menu item.

Based on one good and one meh dinner, I guess I need one more visit to break the tie.